In a largely gloomy period for England’s rugby union side in the 1970s, one player stood out like a beacon. The international game in the northern hemisphere was dominated by a dazzling Wales team and, while England were able to pull off some remarkable victories, such as the 1973 win over the All Blacks in Auckland, their forward-dominated style saw them fall short back home in the Five Nations Championship.
The Coventry wing David Duckham, who has died aged 76 of a heart condition, would have walked into that great Wales side, however. Duckham’s swashbuckling style, his blond hair flapping behind him and with his trademark sidestep, would leave would-be tacklers groping at thin air.
Yet although he would go on to set a British and Irish Lions record that stands to this day, his eight international seasons from February 1969 to February 1976 coincided, through no fault of his own, with two Five Nations whitewashes and six wooden spoons. Wales supporters were happy to see Duckham on a losing side but were full of admiration for the man himself. They nicknamed him “Dai” Duckham. Duckham, a modest and amiable man, would repay the compliment by calling his autobiography Dai for England (1980).
Born in Coventry, David was educated at King Henry VIII grammar school. His brother Philip was a promising rugby player who played for the England Under-15 side, but at school David’s power and athleticism marked him out and his talent was spotted by the Coventry club.
Coventry were a major force in the English club game, and when England won in Auckland in 1973 they had five players from the club in their side, including Duckham and two teammates from his school first XV, Peter Rossborough and Peter Preece. Duckham made an instant impact on his international debut in Dublin in 1969. One of five new caps, the 22-year-old scored a spectacular 60-yard try on a bitterly cold February afternoon when the England players were grateful of the thermal underwear provided by the Rugby Football Union. Duckham was asked why he did not finish off the try with a dive in the corner. His answer was that the ground was so frozen in that corner that it would have been like diving on concrete.
That game in Dublin epitomised Duckham’s England career. Despite the flashes of brilliance from the new wing, and despite leading four times, England lost. Duckham, though, was a rising star and the cerebral Welsh coach Carwyn James earmarked him for a Test place on the 1971 Lions tour of New Zealand.
Duckham knew, however, that he had to do something special to break into that Test side. Ten days before the Test series began he did something remarkable. The Lions arrived in the old gold-mining town of Greymouth. In the area gripped by the gold rush of the 1860s Duckham chose the right moment to find a rich seam of form. Against West Coast-Buller on a waterlogged pitch he scored six tries and went on to play a major role in a Test side that won the series 2-1 and had arguably the best backline in Lions history. Gareth Edwards and Barry John were the half-backs, the captain, John Dawes, and Mike Gibson the centres, Duckham and Gerald Davies the wings and JPR Williams was at full-back. Not all of Duckham’s skills were as an attacker and he shone in defence in the final Test in Auckland.
He went on to win 36 England caps but the inconsistency of the national side and the constant chopping and changing by the selectors undermined the confidence of even a man who had become a superstar in the world game. Alastair Hignell, the full-back whose first Five Nations in 1976 was Duckham’s last, shared a room with the wing before the first championship game against Wales. Duckham told Hignell bluntly that the selectors did not know what they were doing and that the most important thing was not to make mistakes and give them an excuse to drop him. He admitted that by then the whole team had become paranoid about being dropped, despite England having a number of outstanding players.
Duckham’s main regret in his career was to miss the triumphant Lions tour to South Africa in 1974, when he was at the height of his powers, due to a troubling groin injury. He saw a specialist in Harley Street who recommended six months’ rest, and the Welsh sprinter JJ Williams took Duckham’s place in Willie John McBride’s Lions side.
The injury took its toll and a torn hamstring against Scotland in 1976 marked the end of his international career, in which he scored 10 tries for England. It was a modest haul for such a great player who could rarely showcase his talent in the white shirt of England, talent that so many viewers saw on display in a mesmeric performance in the Barbarians’ epic win over the All Blacks in 1973.
He reverted back to centre to resume a club career with Coventry that ended with a game against Richmond at Coundon Road in April 1979. He scored 147 tries for his club and was Coventry’s greatest player.
Duckham, who was made MBE a year after his last England game, went on to become a successful businessman, had jobs in banking and the building industry, and ran a sports after-dinner speaking service with his wife, Jean, whom he married in 1970. At the age of 44 he underwent triple heart bypass surgery.
He is survived by Jean and his three daughters, Faye, Emily and Lucy.
David John Duckham, rugby player, born 28 June 1946; died 9 January 2023
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